and now, from washington ago leading news station, this is news 4 today. they call it part hurricane, part nor'easter and all trouble. sandy rolls north. the brand new forecast track and how people are preparing. that's straight ahead. thousands of runners take their mark and get set to run the marine corps marathon this morning. nbc 4 is near the starring line as the runners start riving. >> chuck will be out there. welcome to news 4 today, everyone. sandy is a big storm today. >> the storm is on track to collide with another weather system. eight states and the district have issued states of emergency.

tom kierein is in for chuck. >> swinging bands of heavy rain into the carolinas, southeastern virginia and right along the eastern shore and inland from delaware into now southern maryland, northern neck of virginia. they're getting bands of heavy rain. right now, category 1 hurricane with 75 mile per hour winds, latest track bringing it ashore somewhere in this cone of possibility. that would be anywhere from near ocean city all of the way up to long island. this is the zone where it would be likely coming in and it does look like the position that 2:00 p.m. on monday is still going to be off the coast but does look like it could be coming inland, anywhere from ocean city to long island. that would be perhaps around sunset on monday, into monday evening. strongest winds for us happening around dawn on tuesday. right now, some of that heavy rain is falling, delaware and all these areas east of the bay

and just to the east of the northern neck, creeping close to washington. we have a high wind warning for noon monday to 8:00 p.m. tuesday, gusts to 60 throughout this entire region. details on the forecast coming right up. richard and angie. >> tom, thank you. several states of emergency are in effect along the mid-atlantic and the northeast coast. the governor of delaware ordered mandatory evacuations along some coastal areas. >> sandy is threatening to spoil the fun for people in rehoboth beach. >> we want to bring you the latest information. what we know from emergency officials as of late last night was that they canceled all of today's activities for their annual sea witch festival, which brings thousands to rehoboth beach every year. this is our hotel this morning. the windows are boarded up,

sandbags are lining many, many homes and hotels and the surf is starting to kick up this morning. emergency officials are set to give us an update at about 10:00 this morning where we will get the latest on the system. but check out the surf behind me. you can see the waves that are definitely picking up. again, waiting to hear the latest word on sandy from emergency officials here in rehoboth beach at 10:00 this morning. we'll bring you much more coverage as the day continues. angie, richard, back to you. >> erica, have you noticed people have started evacuating or do you think that will happen later today? >> you know, richard, yesterday when we were at the stores, when we were at the grocery stores and the hardware stores stocking up on water and on plywood and generators, a lot of people were still almost -- i cautiously say this -- not taking it serious enough. a lot of people have decided to

wait it out. there is a mandatory evacuation set in place by the delaware governor for anybody that lives within three-quarter mile of the beach or the delaware bay. a lot people have said we are going to wait it out. we want to remind folks that what forecasters like our very own meteorologist tom kierein is saying, this is an unprecedented storm and much larger than anything we have experienced most recently, like irene. richard? >> erica, keep it safe out there. today people living in the district can pick up sandbags to protect their homes from flooding. d.c.'s department of public works will hand out sandbags at the tacoma park center. d.c. residents can stop by from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to pick up their sandbags. there is a five-bag limit per car. throughout our area people are preparing for the worst, not only stocking up for the possibility of long power outages but in some

neighborhoods they're bracing for flooding. news 4's jackie bensen reports. >> reporter: in the huntington section of fairfax county it's a tense game of watching and waiting. this flyer was hand delivered to every home in the area which has been devastated regularly by flooding, warning residents to be prepared. as recently as august, residents of this neighborhood were pumping water out of their basements. >> we've been preparing for a couple days. >> reporter: at twins ace hardware store on main street in fairfax, you can tell what people need by looking at the empty spaces on the shelves. this space on the second floor held portable generators, almost unheard of for inside the beltway use a decade ago, they are now a hod commodity. after many found themselves in the dark for days after a summer storm, people say they are not taking chances.

>> i bought batteries. the guy fixed this. i bought a battery so it didn't work. i have a lightbulb for that. >> reporter: this county executive says they hope to avoid the massive 911 failure during the summer storm. >> i'm hopeful we won't have another incident like we did with the derecho storm. >> ahead of sandy's arrival, both dulles and reagan national airports say they plan to remain open but are warning passengers to check with their airlines before coming to the airport. the airport authority says passengers should check their airline about flight delays, cancellations or adjustments to rebooking policies. they say they plan to use twitter to retweet any announcement from the major airlines. airlines are letting many passengers make changes without paying a fee. meantime, amtrak has canceled some of its service for today and tomorrow and some of those affected routes include d.c. amtrak says more cancellations are possible and it is con

tacking affected passengers offering them refiunds or vouchers. we have a link on our website, nbcwashington.com. >> there are no changes to metro rail or bus service. that could change. the transit agency says with sustained winds, travel times could grow longer for trains in above ground areas. the storm could also slow down metro bus service. they are urging riders to sign up for metro alerts for updates by text or e-mail. we'll continue tracking sandy all morning long. we have complete coverage of hurricane sandy on nbcwashington.com. there you can see the latest track and sign up to get breaking news and weather alerts. new this morning, people on west coast of canada are checking for damage after a strong earthquake hit in british columbia. a magnitude quake struck last night in the queen charlotte islands area. a 5.8 magnitude aftershock hit

several minutes later. sirens went off there, warning people to evacuate to higher ground. a tsunami advisory is in effect for other parts of coastal oregon and northern california. overnight, a small wave came ashore in craig, alaska. in less than two hours, thousands of runners will start pounding their way through the streets of arlington and d.c. for the 37th annual marine corps marathon. runners are actually going to -- they're at the starting line right now. we want to take a look real quick at the map of the course. many of the roads seen here are closed. there will be rolling closures throughout the morning. right now parts of route 110, washington boulevard, wilson boulevard, the memorial bridge and madison drive are shut down. coming up in 30 minutes we'll have a live report from that course. i know you ran into a couple road blocks on the way in. >> yes. >> you made it here. >> did i make it. >> yes. >> hopefully everyone can make it to the race today. the time right now is 6:80.

the computer model shows sandy will likely make landfall north of the d.c. region. >> we'll take you live to the jersey shore to check out conditions there. don't let your guard down here. prepare for significant wind and rain. we can help you out. download the wrc4 weather app.

ike leggett: gaming generated one hundred and eighty... million dollars for maryland schools. question seven will double it. rushern baker: question seven will add table games and... a new casino, generating millions of dollars... every year, without raising taxes. leggett: and audits will ensure the money goes... where it's supposed to. more jobs, and millions for schools. baker: question seven will be good for our kids... our teachers, and our schools. leggett: keep maryland money in maryland. baker: please vote for question seven. leggett: vote for question seven.

would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme. so i looked into it. turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception at all. in fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother's life. this issue's important to me, but i'm more concerned about the debt

our children will be left with. i voted for president obama last time, but we just can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. we want to take you live to rehoboth beach where the tide is starting to rise. it's pretty misty. we just checked in with erica gonzalez. the winds are starting to pick up this way. we continue to track sandy, a storm that's killed 58 people in the caribbean. >> there's evacuation orders posted for that area. everyone wants to know, when is it going to get here? >> it will have impact from here

to new england, and in parts of the midwest. heavy rain, lots of wind and some snow. let's get it broken down for you. right now this is what's going on with sandy. there is a live view from our city camera showing just a few clouds over the washington monument. for the start of the race we'll have maybe a few sprinkles of light rain for the marathon this morning. as we do take a look at the latest satellite image of sandy, look at how huge it is. it's affecting the weather from new england to florida, a 2,000 mile wide area is being affected by this particular storm, interacting with a front coming into the ohio valley. right now we are getting heavy downpours to the east of washington. here's the latest track. still a category 1 hurricane with 75 mile-an-hour winds. tracking northeast today and on monday, taking a northwesterly turn, then late monday into early tuesday morning, coming ashore, midnight monday night into tuesday morning. coming ashore anywhere from near

ocean city all the way to new york city. it could come ashore anywhere in this zone and coming ashore is a strong, perhaps tropical storm by then probably won't be a hurricane. our local radar showing a band of heavy rain across the maryland/delaware border there and all the way stretching down toward near cambridge and then across the bay to the northern neck. this is slowly creeping off to the north and east, getting a few sprinkles north and west of washington right now. now we could get 5 to 10 inches of rain from this system, all in these counties in green, including all of northern virginia, the district and just about all of maryland, parts of east and west virginia. in addition, gusts to 60 miles an hour. all these counties in pink, noon monday to 8:00 p.m. on tuesday. that is when we'll have our heaviest winds. as we go forward by 6:00 a.m. monday, winds will be around 20, 30 miles an hour. then by 6:00 p.m. monday, this airy in pink, the high wind zone coming in will have gusts of 40

to 60 miles an hour. the peak gusts 60 miles an hour may occur 2:00 a.m. on tuesday as well as into tuesday morning. still having gusts prac s perha high. the wind gusts should die down as we get into tuesday evening and wednesday. going forward, here's monday. by 6:00 a.m., some of the heaviest rains coming in between midnight tonight and monday, 6:00 a.m. this area in blue is a zone of some snow in the mountains of west virginia. even the panhandle of west virginia could get several inches of snow. hour by hour, throughout the day today, a shower through noontime and a greater chance of showers with temperatures holding steady near 60 during the afternoon. storm team 4 four-day forecast, beginning to move in monday, monday night and into tuesday morning and then things will settle down maybe with some still lingering showers on wednesday and for the dleenup and for the long duration power

outages, thankfully we'll be drying out on thursday, friday and into saturday. things will be settling down. but prepare for long duration power outages, unfortunately. back with several frequent updates throughout the morning. stay tuned. >> all right, tom, thanks. next up is reporters notebook, a look at stories affecting your commune. >> we'll be back in 15 minutes with more on hurricane sandy. good morning. welcome to reporters notebook. i'm pat lawson muse. the news 4 i-team last week discovered an estimated 10,000 duple cat absentee ballots were sent to voters in montgomery and prince george's county. the reason, a postal coding order. maryland's board of elections resent those ballots. so even if you got two, you only siened in one. because only one will count. do you think a lot of maryland voters are likely to be confused this year? are you confused? >> well, they could be.

we talk so much about voter suppression and voter shenanigans and both sides are arguing who should and shouldn't vote. this is a clear-cut bureaucratic mistake. they sent the wrong things out. you would hope with enough information and enough discussion people will know what to do. yeah, there will be some people who will be confused. >> i think confusion definitely. my point here, pat, is the fact that it's been a year, most likely these people started this whole process, knowing the type of election they were going to have in november 2012. knowing there's a high, intense presidential race along with all of the referendums you have in maryland. it seems to me the maryland board of elections should have had its act together a year ago so you wouldn't have this keepd of confusion. yes, there's going to be a confusion. number one, if you received a ballot and sent that in and received another ballot, you're

going to question why am i getting this other ballot? according to the board of elections, the second ballot or the latest date will be the ballot that will be counted. >> but that's the point. you know, anybody listening to us right now on sunday morning should understand. okay. you've got two ballots. send one of them in. one of them will get counted. >> only one. >> only one will get counted. i agree with you, it shouldn't happen but it did. i imagine they'll examine it. the reality is, send it in. send it in. and it will count. >> there was another ballot issue in montgomery and prince george's counties. this involved a smaller number, handful of voters, got absentee ballots that did not include the second page which has the most controversial ballot issues. question six and seven. >> now, that's major. that one is really major. and this is what draws suspicion on the part of people who think

that there's some hanky-panky going on with the process of, i don't know how you correct that one to be honest. and you may see some legal action taken against the agency. >> those voters are supposed to call and ask for another ballot. >> yes. >> there you go. they're supposed to call. to me, this is very discouraging to the voters. >> right. >> i'm sorry. when you make mistakes -- you know, the board of elections, all over the country, should be so sophisticated in their operations that there is no question, no suspicion. but we're finding this more and more. this is a perfect example as joe is saying, this is a perfect example of that. >> they have to look into it. have an investigation. who dropped the ball here? this is serious. this is the gambling initiative, probably. >> gambling, question six, same-sex marriage. >> those are key issues that people have to have this information on and have to have

a clear cut ballot. this messes up the whole system. >> we want to emphasize that governor o'malley says there were only about 20 voters who got those. >> 20 voters? >> are they sure? >> only 20? >> for only 20 -- well, you know, 20 votes can make a difference. >> here's the answer to that. if there's only 20, then why do 20 have to call? why can't you call the 20? >> right. that's a good point. >> get it out the way. >> first class mail. >> thank you. >> let's hope that happened. in virginia, the attorney general has agreed to investigate a republican party contract worker accused of tossing voter registration forms into a dumpster. sheriffs in rockingham county arrested colin small, being charged with voter fraud. and three congressional democrats, jerry conley, jim

moran and bobby scott. the justice department is reviewing. it's interesting to me that small worked for a company known as pinpoint, a subsidiary of strategic allied consulting. that firm is already under investigation in florida. >> this company has come under fire in several areas. serious charges against it in florida. the republican party has severed ties to it. they're doing that in west virginia and colorado. it's an extraordinary turn of events. we are having a huge discussion over voter fraud and here is a company assigned to work for the party in identifying voters and doing the things they do. and evidence -- widespread allegations, serious allegations about their own hanky-panky is coming up. >> news flash. the gentleman you're talking

about who's under investigation is still doing work for the republican party in other states. >> right. >> number two, there should have been an immediate investigation and you shouldn't have to wait for the u.s. attorney general, the virginia attorney general should have jumped in and done this and would have been, i would imagine, the first to do it if it would have been a democratic operative. >> he is going to investigate. >> he should. and the feds should investigate. number three, the danger here is they did find those voter registration forms he dropped in the dumpster. question is, did he dump others? and destroy others that may not about been found? here you have mass confusion where people will go to the polls thinking they have registered to vote only to find out they vice president and virginia is a key state. >> key swing state. >> this is serious, serious issue. >> we're talking about voter fraud here.

we're talking about -- >> this is exactly voter fraud. >> the critics, the people concerned about the wrong people voting with be this is real voter fraud. >> while we're on -- go ahead, jerry. >> i was going to say, to my recollection, weren't the republicans concerned about voter i.d.? >> that's what i just said. >> because of voter fraud? it just seems the birds of fellow flock together. >> while on the subject -- we'll take a break and then we'll talk about patrick moran who's resigned from his father's campaign.

jim moran has quit his father's re-election campaign after an undercover video showed him discussing possible voter fraud. it was posted by conservative activist james o'keefe. what do we know about this and what do you think the impact, if any, will be on jim moran's re-election? >> the guy come up to him and

proffered to him using forged utility bills as proof of voter eligibility. they have to look good or it's not going to work. he was touting this thing to patrick moran. the allegations are that patrick moran did, to his credit, try to talk this guy out of it, says it's not a great or anything. it seems that he somehow or other gave the guy, the impression, his critics say, he could do it. he didn't say, no, we're not going to do it and walk away from him. he let the guy walk away without having said that. >> well, i don't know. this is a family matter, as jim moran is saying. representative jim moran. i don't know whether it's going to have that much effect, pat. that's your basic question. how much affect will it have on congressman moran's re-election? i don't think it will have that much of an effect. >> i don't think it will have any effect on his. this is reminiscent of what was done, if you remember, with

a.c.o.r.n. where these conservative operatives dressed up like a pimp and prostitute and went in and tried to get jobs or some kind of government form and they have a hidden camera. here's the lesson. there are cameras everywhere. >> right. >> this was clearly an attempt to try and embarrass the congressman, possibly the democratic party, to prove that it was voter fraud. and the reality is that maybe naively he just didn't say, look, man, get away from me. i don't want to hear it and walk away. and that's the lesson here. >> the campaign has called this an error in judgment. moran's campaign did. >> the smile you're on candid camera, you never thought that before -- wherever you go someone can do this. the moran campaign should have been -- >> you can walk out, somebody can approach you.

you don't want to be -- push them 0 way. okay, let's have a conversation. all right. all right. but then what happens it's released, the news story is done, you have a controversy. >> finally, patrick moran is not on the ballot. tim moran is. >> can we talk briefly about the virginia senate race? it's as tight as a tick. "the richmond times dispatch" endorsed the republican in the race and praised the democrat. they said they've run a gentlemanly nice campaign. are the media as split as the voters appear to be? >> i don't know. i haven't taken a couldn't. my suspicion is, for instance, "the washington post" has endorsed cain. it's hard to say whether endorsements in this campaign mean that much. it has been a good spirited, solid issues oriented campaign.

both men, critics and supporters say, have conducted themselves as they often have in previous campaigns. basically more on the issues and not an invective this time around. george allen is perfectly willing to take questions about the macaca moment he had and the embarrassment it caused. it's expanded his horizons and he's more sensitive to things now. he wants to move on. tim kaine has the basic republican agenda. >> in answer to you, pat, this richmond paper is a conservative arm. naturally they'll endorse allen. but on the same token they're sitting on the fence because they don't know. >> i to i a different perspective, an endorsement is an endorsement. i don't care what paragraph 2 or 3 says about how nice the other

guy is. a lot of newspapers do that. it's an endorsement and you can be certain that allen is not going to put in his ads, talking about the nice things that the richmond newspaper said about kaine. >> the bottom line is, no matter how this campaign is seen by these two individuals, whoever wins virginia, a lot of people think that will be who will get kaine or allen into office. if obama wins, it will be kaine. if romney whens it will be allen. in the district, the securities and exchange commission have launched an inquiry into the way audits have been handled by the office of the chief financial officer. what is this inquiry all about and what are the implications here? >> the implications are that wae computerized deliberations of his staff to be public. there are allegations that while working on their computers they

can change assessment rates, things of that nature. and your concern is they shouldn't be doing those kinds of things improperly within the computer. when this became public and there was time to publish what was going on in the computers publicly, he put his foot down and didn't want to do it at first. now he has to do it because the s.e.c. has an investigation. >> and the d.c. council along with the mayor wants the same thing. that is to have exposure to the public. vince gray ran on this whole idea of transparency throughout the whole government. this is a transparency question here. >> i think he gets too much credit in the city for all kinds of things. he knows how to sell himself. he meets with the reporters. i think covert cain did an excellent article about this. i'm glad to see this action, quite honestly is being taken. >> they assess the stuff that people think they can't find, they really can find.

people are complaining, saying that's not true. >> my last question to you, a yes or no aner. will d.c. ban big sugary drinks like new york? >> who cares. you know? >> there are council members who support that. >> that's a new york thing. let it catch up with new york. by the way, so you don't get a 16 ounce cup, you get an 8 ounce cup and go back 20 times. >> joe, jerry, dave, i'll drink to that. thank you. >> less than 16 ounces. that's "reporters notebook." i'm pat lawson. stay with us as news 4 today continues. now from washington's leading news station, this is news 4 today. the watch and wait for sa y sandy's left hook. good morning, everyone. welcome to news 4 today, i'm angie gaffe.

>> and i'm richard jordan. we are live this morning at the pentagon parking lot where runners are about to line up for the marine corps marathon. good morning, tom kierein. >> we've had scattered light rain coming from the first effects of sandy which is still a very large hurricane. it has winds now of about 75 miles an hour. its position is still way off the atlantic seaboard, southeast of north carolina. as a category 1 hurricane maintaining that strength today. it will take a turn during the day on monday. it looks like late on monday, sunset monday to midnight monday, that's when it may be coming ashore from south of ocean city to another point.

how much rain and wind? we'll sort it out coming up in a few minutes. back to you. >> tom, thanks. we continue to track sandy as the storm moves towards the east coast. >> danielle lee is live in cape may, new jersey with the latest from there. good morning, danielle. >> good morning, richard and angie. the clock is ticking here in cape may, new jersey. we are under mandatory evacuation orders starting at 4:00 this afternoon. the winds were not blowing like this last night when we went to sleep. you probably can't make it out at this time but the waves are picking up. take a look over here. all is quiet here in cape may. you may see behind me, homes have their lights on. people tell me they'll be starting to board up later today. mt. pleasant, new jersey, people across the new jersey coast getting ready for the storm also in connecticut, delaware, new york. people are taking this

seriously. they do not want to be caught off guard after what happened last year with hurricane irene. last night i did stop at a grocery store. they had just gotten a shipment of water and they were clean out of stocked mini nonparishables, batteries, flashlights. if you haven't started getting ready for this storm, already you'll be running out of time. you may find it's hard to find some of the things that you need. the storm is expected to be massive and we can see the rain later today as the two storms combine and possibly affect 60 million people. reporting live in cape may, new jersey, i'm danielle lee. back to you. >> thank you very much. in decision 2012, hundreds of people voted early, causing problems at polling places in the district. on saturday, people waited in long lines to cast their vote in the election. eight early voting places opened for the first time yesterday across the district. many voters say workers at the polling places were not prepared for the large crowds.

>> i have just been told it's going to take us longer because there are only two voting machines that are working. in ward 8. if you were in a different ward you could go over there to vote in ward 8. >> take a ticket, sit down and we'll call you when we're ready. >> d.c. election workers say some of the voting machines did not have the specific neighborhood races programmed on the machine. the polling plateses are closed today but will re-open tomorrow morning at 8:30. marylanders sit in long lines to vote early. the line stretched around the block at several polling places in prince george's county. some people say they waited as long as four hours to cast their ballot on saturday. some people are concerned about what will happen to electronic votes if the power goes out in maryland. they tell them, power outages

will not erase vote counts. right now, more than 30,000 runners are gathering for the marine corps marathon. it all gets under way in a little over an hour. keith russell joins us live with more on people's marathon. good morning. >> hey, richard, how are you? as you said, the race starts for all the runners at 7:55, around 7:40, the wheelchair and hand cycle pa sicycle participants will start. i want to bring in the race director. he's been the race director since 1993. he started when he was an active officer in the marines. you look like you're ready to go and do this thing right now, rick. >> the marines and sailors are out here. it's just an awesome day. we're talking about runners who closed out in two hours and 41 minutes eight months ago.

these runners are dedicated, determined. they have the physical courage and they've been training and over the last 2 1/2 days i've been able to, you know, just reach out and touch our runners. and you know, it's special. they're coming to northern virginia and washington, d.c. they're coming to our nation's capital to run on our streets. and you know, our nation's at war and the marines and sailors have a chance to show case their organization skills, the same skills that marines are doing all around the globe right now defending our country. >> you're talking about closing out. what you mean by that is when you open registration in march, 30,000 slots were snatched up in less than three hours. what does that say about what this marathon means? not only to this region but we're talking about every state being represented today, we're talking about 54 countries represented as well. >> runners can go -- there's a lot of marathons out there and there are some big ones out there. the fact they want to come to the people's marathon, we treat

the first runner and the last runner as special as -- and everybody else in between. i think that's really the strong point about marine corps is the fact that we really do believe that the people are making a statement by coming here. and i wanted to say that they believe in this country, they believe what the marine corps and our sailors are doing in harm's way. and the fact that they really want to show case -- you know, a healthy lifestyle is so important these days. you know? these are really the role models that we need in our country. they're out there, you know, putting the foot on the ground, you know, it's just not words. it's action. that's what they're doing. >> it is the people's marathon, 9,600 service members will also compete today. coming up before 7:00, right before 7:00, guys back in studio, a guy you know from the studio. boy is he in for a marathon

weekend. you know who i'm talking about. he's running for the third straight year. >> does his name start with a "t"? >> maybe. he's trying to outrun sandy. let's put it like that. we'll hear from c.b. right before 7:00. >> we'll see you soon, keith. thanks, guys. time right now is 6:3 9. good morning. everybody. keep it here.

tracking sandy now. the system is a category 1 hurricane with winds of 75 miles per hour, inching closer and closer to seaside communities along the east coast. right now residents from ocean city to new york city are on

alert to see where this system will make landfall. hurricane sandy is causing concern with election day a little more than a week away. >> candidates are cancelling events and the storm could impact early voting. "meet the press" moderator david gregory joins us now. good morning. >> good morning. >> we want to start off with the itinerary. it's shaking things up. >> both campaigns are watching closely, cancelling some events in our area, anywhere along the east coast. and as you say, early voting could be impacted and could even get the effects of it obviously into ohio which could be a concern. the president -- as the president has to think about his presence in the aftermath of the storm like this and the resources from the federal government that have to go to help the states along the storm's path. there's just the attention taken away from the campaign by covering this storm will heighten over the next couple of days. that will be important as well. whatever the after-effects are

certainly could have an impact. uncertainty in weather and politics here in the final nine days, it's just unbelievable. >> what are the issues that both candidates are looking to push in the next few days as we get closer? >> i really think the economy is now coming back in the final nine days is a big issue. are things getting better? does the president deserve more credit for that or is it too anemic, this recovery, that you need a stan change? i was reading "the des moines register" endorsed mitt romney, first time they've done that since richard nixon in 197 have they recoursed a republican. that was about the economy, about a focus on jobs, the ability to work with congress. i think this will be the big final push over the next nine days. it's what you can't see in front of the cameras. it's a get out the vote operation, early voting, how they drum up intensity and enthusiasm among the key groups they have to get out. that's the name of the game right now. >> i want to the bring you back to sandy and the state of virginia. we're expecting to get hit hard

with the power outages and everything. this could be crucial with it being such a key battle ground state. >> no question. we have to see what the damage is, what the impact is actually like and whether this means a couple of days where they're away or if it's longer than that, if cleanup stretches in closer to election day. but, again, this impact is potentially on early voting is an issue. that's something the obama team thinks favors them in a state like virginia. we just have to wait and see. >> who do you have joining you on the program? >> we have the governor of ohio, john casic, governor of wisconsin, surprisingly close, scott walker and colorado, very close. the democratic governor of that state as well. rachel maddow is on our roundtable and chuck todd with the latest maps and what to look for on election day. >> thank you very much. the "today" show will broadcast live from the

university of richmond as they talk with undecided voters whose attention the candidates are trying to capture. watch lester holt's report live coming up this morning at 8:00 right here on nbc 4. we want to turn our attention back to hurricane sandy now. let's check in with meteorologist tom kierein. >> coming up, the latest track on sandy. just released about an hour or so ago. we'll take a look at the threat for our area and give you all the details and how much wind and rain to expect, coming right up, stay tuned. [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage.

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you're watching news 4 today. we are just about an hour away from the start of one of the biggest races of the year. more than 30,000 people will be weaving their way through the streets of washington, d.c. and arlington. keith russell joins us live from the course. hey, keith. >> hey, richard. hey, angie.

yes, we are about to start this race right before 8:00, the 37th annual marine corps marathon. chuck bell, we mentioned him, he's at another part of the course right now getting the final stretches in. he has a marathon weekend. meantime, like you said, 30,000 runners, over 11,000 first timers, 9,600 service members, first timers, maybe next time i'll be a first timer. what do you think? if i get this thing off my foot. i'm in this race next year. i'm in this race next year, guys. >> i'll do it with you. >> okay. >> we'll have a tag team score. >> it's been five years since i did it. i think it's about time. >> we have a whole year to get ready. you have a year to get that foot back in shape. >> yes. >> will do. >> all right. thanks, keith. we'll check back in a little later. turning our eyes to the weather. you've been a very busy man. what i think is amazing about this whole thing is the width of the storm when you see it on the map. >> it's affecting an area 2,000

miles long from maine to florida and all the way from midwest all the way way out into the atlantic. you can see the size of this storm. it doesn't have incredibly intense winds but it is affecting a huge area. hurricane sandy continuing to spin off the north carolina coast, slowly making its track off to the north and east. it is a category 1 hurricane with 75 mile-an-hour winds. the pressure hasn't changed much but pressure may deepen by the time it becomes a low pressure system moving inland. we'll no longer be calling it sandy anymore as it does move inland. here are the latest timings on the electronic. it could come ashore anywhere from long island down to schinateak. it's those first few hours, the first 12, 24-hour period after it makes landfall that we'll have the heaviest winds and the

heaviest rains and the rain is already on the eastern shore, 5 to 10 inches of rain possible, all these counties in green under a flood watch sunday night into tuesday, including the district. all of maryland, north virginia. also, gusts to 60 miles an hour, high wind warning. this includes all of northern virginia, the district, all of maryland and extends into eastern west virginia as well. this is in effect from noon monday to 8:00 p.m. tuesday, high wind warning. and we'll break it down for you. when will the winds get strongest? by 6:00 a.m. monday, still not too bad. between now and then, maybe gusts 25 to 30 miles an hour increasing this afternoon into this evening. during the day on mondays we rapidly see it increase by 6:00 p.m. monday. we could have gusts 50 to 60 miles an hour east of washington, right in washington and points west as well. this is as of 6:00 p.m. monday. by 2:00 a.m. tuesday after it has made landfall and moves inland, we could have gusts 50 to 60 miles an hour. thankfully the winds will

decrease as we get into tuesday morning, late tuesday morning into tuesday afternoon. still remaining a bit blustery as we get into wednesday. here's the timing on the rainfall and the storm coming in by 5:00 p.m. today, not much rain. a few passing showers. some of the heavier rain bands coming in, does look like after sunset tonight and this is by around 6:00 on monday morning, some of the heaviest rain bands moving through between then and monday and 6:00 p.m. also we may get some snow, this blue zone out in west virginia, southern west virginia, the highlands from near elkins and canane valley, west virginia, could get a foot of wet snow there. this is as of tuesday as of 7:00 in the morning. might have a little bit of a light dusting along the blueridge. hour by hour, throughout the day, might have a few light sprinkles, then showers moving in, the winds picking up as we reach around 60 degrees. and then the heaviest rains, the strongest winds coming in,

monday afternoon and evening, continuing into part of tuesday. the wind should die down tuesday night, maybe a lingering shower wednesday morning. the seven-day outlook showing improving news. we'll need it for the cleanup and prepare for a long duration power outage event unfortunately. we'll keep you posted here into the afternoon. >> all right, tom, wow, you got all that in. you'll be going all week as well. okay, let's move it over to sports. >> the redskins will dodge sandy's wrath as they travel west today. >> the terps were looking for a win in college football. carol maloney has that and more and this morning's sports minute. good sunday morning, everybody. i'm carol maloney. your sports minute starts with football. the redskins and rg3 take their high-powered offense to the steel city later today. the rookie quarterback is looking forward to facing one of the nfl's toughest defenses. >> they like to bring a lot of pressure, make it a chaotic

game. it's something that you truly can't be ready for until you're out there on the field. they run that three-four defense, that's similar to the one we run. i look forward to playing them. it will be a good chess match. >> down a level, maryland visiting boston college. roh, two td passes in the second half, including a 66-yarder here that gave the terps a 17-13 lead. with a minute to play, chase reddick hits a wide open jonathan coleman for a 14-yard game-winning touchdown. b.c. wins 20-17 as the terps drop to 4-4 this season. world series, game three between the giants and the tigers. ryan vogelsong tosses 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball for san francisco and for the second game in a row, the giants blanked the tigers, 2-0. san francisco up three games to none in the series. they will try and win their second world series in three

years tonight. that is your sports in a minute. i'm carol maloney. hope you have a great sunned. >> we've been asking for your questions on facebook and twitter in regards to sandy and tom is here to answer them. the first one comes by twitter. how will these power outages compare to those in july, similar or worse? p. i think these will be worse. the ones in july were affecting a smaller area, maybe about a 30-mile wide band. we're talking about areas from richmond, virginia, all the way to boston could have power outage, millions may be affected including our area, unfortunately. >> wow. the second question is coming from facebook. someone is asking what is halloween night looking like? i have five very disappointed little girls if the storm interferes with the one night of the year they're allowed to beg for candy. >> we may have power outages but it looks like it will be drying out, the winds dying down. we'll probably still have power outages. >> oh, man. our third question, did m

my @nbcwashington weatherman say we may see snowflakes along with sandy? >> yes, this storm has many faces, wind, rain and yes, even snow perhaps in west virginia and western and northern suburbs may see snowflakes flying through the air tuesday night. i don't think anything will stick. the grounded is way too warm. but really, really strange when you think about talking hurricanes and tropical weather and then snow at the end of it. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted on all of this going on. >> some may get their snowtober after all. >> don't say it. >> more news 4 today, coming up aft

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and now, from washington's leading news station, this is news 4 today. good morning. and welcome to news 4 today, i'm angie gaffe. >> i'm richard jordan. let's get the latest on hurricane sandy. >> tom, you said this is something you've never seen anything like this as far as the storm. >> the storm wl have many, many facet today's it. right now we're looking at the track of sandy, the latest one. it could come ashore from long island to chinkateek. >> an inch or two will creep

toward the metro area later today. back to you. >> tom, thanks. d.c. residents can protect their homes from flooding. d.c.'s department of public works will hand out sandbags at the tacoma park center. d.c. residents can stop by from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to pick up their sandbags. there is a five-bag limit per car. in less than an hour, the 37th annual marine corps marathon gets under way. we have a live look at the course as runners gather for the start. more than 30,000 people are taking part in the popular race through the heart of d.c. and arlington. a live report from the course later in this hour. those are some of the stories making headlines this morning. >> the time 17:01. coming up nbc 4's viewpoint and we'll have another update in a few minutes. i'm jim handly. the safety net is shrinking for

some families. this morning our guests are making a deference in our community. we have the executive director of the downtown clusters geriatric center. and a pastor at asbury united methodist church and lewis davis jr., he is the senior state director with aarp in d.c. welcome to viewpoint. >> thank you. >> let's start out if we can with the big picture and the challenges specifically facing our seniors today. what are some of the biggest challenges? >> well, they are indeed massive and each and every month i, with other pastors throughout the area, come into contact with people who are just struggling today to redefine retirement. to redefine their existence. thinking that they would be able to do family things and be there

for family support and getting other types of work. most of the people are now asking the question will i have to return to work? >> right. >> and this is a real challenge. the issue of uncertainty. i think the issue of uncertainty is the largest cloud around the elderly today. and trying to understand what the future is going to look like and whether or not they're going to be able to sustain themselves around the income and support base that they presently have. there are lots of other issues, of course. but i think the uncertainty is what i feel most often. >> do you sense that, too, out there, uncertainty, perhaps fear? >> we do. i think the pastor touched on an important topic. about the -- about uncertainty. at aarp we recognize for some

time now that retirement has -- how we define it needs to change. the world around us has changed and we haven't had the terms to catch up with the new reality. in the district of cluck olumbiu have persons who don't consider themselves to be elderly or old. they are 50 and older, full of life and vibrancy. sometimes they are not properly focused on, in terms of their needs and opportunities. a lot of them are caregivers, particularly if they're boomers. they're likely to be caring for a parent, grandparent or spouse. and it's a population that needs just a laser beam after tension brought to it. that's what we're trying to do at aarp. i think t district of columbia has made strides in that direction but there's a lot of room for improvement. >> talk about the role of community if you would, and the great works your folks have been doing there. >> downtown clusters geriatric

day-care center is a center for the functionally impaired eld elderly. when we think about the center we think about the lady that is a hurricane katrina survivor. you think about being drawn or experiencing a trip of uncertainty, moving from -- speaking about what the pastor says, moving from dome to dome and ending up in a place of where, again, uncertainty starts. one stabilizing factor for her throughout the years is that the center has been there to help her cope and develop coping strategies, physical therapy to assist her with her gait that is slowing down. speaking to the some of the issues when we think about the

elderly, having enough funds just for transportation to get to and from places like the center. metro access is not affordable, if you're living off of $600 to $700 a month. if you're coming to the center, you're paying $6 a day. that's quite expensive. when you think about food insecurity, by partnering with asbury united methodist church, we're able to offer balanced, nutritious meals. for the working caregiver, we give them hope and also provide them a sense of peace of mind because they can work knowing their loved ones are in a safe, stimulating and loving place. how does this impact the community? it impacts the community because attendance is up at work, productivity is up at work.

health care decreases because the caregiver is more well because the stress has been reduced. through our caregivers support group meetings we help them hone their caregiving skills. we help them better understand what it is to manage a person with dementia, especially of the alzheimer's type. and for the 17% of our seniors who live alone, they see us as their all in all. they shop through us. the nurse sees to it that if there's medication that is to be administered, it's not only administered but there are also educated on and being monitored as to how to take those medicines. we, for many, as one gentlemen said, give them a reason to wake up in the morning. >> that's well put.

we'll take a break on that nice note there and we'll be right back on "viewpoint." we'll put up web addresses and phone numbers if you'd like to learn more about the downtown cluster program and aarp and the good work that's being done every day. stay with us.

welcome back to "viewpoint" again, our focus this morning, seniors in our commune. these are struggling times as we mentioned off the top of the half hour. downtown cluster program, from the beginning, if you would, reverend shockley, united methodist church has been involved and it's based there. >> yes. >> jim, as you know, asbury last year celebrated its 175th year at its present location. and in those 175 years, now 76, asbury has been at the forefront

of most of the social justice, social action change and issues in the city. and continues today to be a leading entity that provides for the homeless and feeding. we do about 4,000 feedings a month. we provide all kinds of services around that population. but there was a group of people in asbury that saw a need to establish with other churches of this geriatric facility. we regard ourselves as the founders of and as such, the ministry started rather small and as long as it was small it could be housed small. as it grew and started to provide a tremendous additional services for the seniors, they need and continue to need facilities that can allow the physical therapy, the gym type

physical activities. but until such a facility is available, we are a community. the church is a community. and it's supposed to be a community. so we serve our constituency and we're proud to be a part of the geriatric center. mrs. cave and her staff does a tremendous job with the limited space we offer them. we wish we had double the facility, but we are happy to be there and see the kind of work some of our constituents are related. so they have membership at asbury. they grow to a certain age and the children then enroll them in the adult geriatric center at asbury. and so we do have that relationship. >> that's great. >> we look forward to serving. >> i want to talk about the increased demand out there, but first louis, if we can from the

aarp perspective, this interesting program called age friendly communities, which d.c. has been signed up been designated as part of this initiative. tell our viewers what this means. >> this is an exciting opportunity to address and bring to the floor a lot more resources and attention to the very issues we're talking about. it was began by the world health organization, a little over a decade ago, exists in 33 cities around the world. what's new, they partner with aarp to bring it to the u.s. of a. portland, oregon and new york city were out the gate and they're already in the implementation phases. it provides a framework, inviting a city government to look anew at how it provides services to its elderly population. so that it calls to the attention the agencies not just the office on aging, every city has something similar, called an office on age, while that's

good, the flip side is that it means all and every service related to seniors gets doled to that single agency. here in d.c., that agency has the smallest budget of any agency. the needs for seniors keeps growing. sme sometimes the voice of advocacy gets small. we are happy to the mayor on october 3rd accepted our invitation to begin the process of making the district of columbia an age friendly city. what that will require is that the mayor will have to call to the mat every one of his city agencies, not just the office on aging but every city agency that has a program dollar, a dollar of any kind of program or service that touches the life of a senior. it won't mean throwing out the baby with the bath water but it will ask of them to look anew at what they're playing to do, what they already have in operation and as mayor bloomberg says in new york city, and i like this, see that program through the eyes of a 75-year-old.

see that new planning for a stre streetscapea georgia avenue, look at it again through the eyes of a 75-year-old. and arguably if you make it safe for a 75-year-old to cross the street, you've made it safe for a woman who's 33 pushing a baby stroller, made it safe for me when i'm on crutches. stick around, we'll be right back. teacher: this is west virginia, pennsylvania, delaware. and this is maryland. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty million gaming at casinos in these other states. question seven will build a new casino and bring table games to baltimore...

generating hundreds of millions for schools. and that money has to go to education. it's the law. so vote for question seven. so we can stop spending all that money here, and keep maryland money in classrooms like mine. good morning. i'm 7:16. i'm angie gaffe. let's get the latest from tom kierein. category 1 hurricane, 75 mile-an-hour winds, tracking

northeast and taking a turn getting closer to our region. looks like it may be coming ashore from chincoteague to long island. late monday until perhaps around midnight on monday night into early tuesday morning, moving inland, slowing down, giving us perhaps some flooding rain as well as damaging winds. right now, it's producing some heavy rain bands on the eastern shore. these are slowly advancing off to the west. we have a few sprinkles of light rain around washington and points north right now. the shower activity, the wind activity will increase as we get into tonight as well as on monday and tuesday. i'll be back shortly with all the details, angie. >> thanks, tom. more headlines in 15 minutes. now back to viewpoint after the break. welcome back to "viewpoint." our focus this sunday morning, senior and caring for the elderly.

tommi is tommie cave, i want to ask you about the program, the caregivers, that's an important program. >> it certainly is. we provide a monthly caregivers support group meeting for caregivers. it meets every third wednesday from 9:30 to 10:30. we have resources to come in and to share with them necessary information that will ease the burden of caring. in addition to that we have what we call a car givers night out. it's held right there at asbury. in the evening we'll play a wii game, we've done line dancing. just for a little while, caregivers can throw away the burdens of caring and just bask in the moment of having a little fun. another interesting caregivers support group is called what's up with grandma and grandpa? we know that often times moms,

aunts or whomever will leave the young folk there, say i need to run to the store to pick up something. will you watch grandpa for me? so what we discovered was that this was a very frightening and daunting task just because kids were not aware. kids from 9 to 21, we do role playing. we share information so they can better understand. i know one young man said when he was asked how do you feel about caring for -- it was his grandma. he said, i'm scared. she's not the grandma i used to know. when we talk about what dementia does and how it impacts the behavior and what you can do as a caregiver, you forget you're in that situation, it made him -- it abated the fears and gave him a greater

understanding. so he knows now that if grandma says i have to take care of the babies, he can redirect that and say, grandma, will you help me with this or engage her in another activity to distract and, therefore, avoid a catastrophic situation wherein if grandma is being nonresponsive to what he's trying to do or is being resistant, from a caregivers perspective also, when you look at the program, it's a cost benefit to the community. it's a cost benefit to the family. we don't charge for our services. we ask for donations. if folk don't have it to give, they still receive the quality care. now, you look at what we do compared to nursing home care. it's close to about $100,000 here in the district now

annually. >> a year. exactly. >> per person. yes. >> you can keep those costs down with your program under $7,000. >> exactly. this is what we do. but think of it. a senior coming in, getting physical therapy. the rate of hourly pay were that done in a private sector is astronomical. and here they are able to get that. there's a gentleman in a wheelchair, the right side is impaired, has difficulty working. he walks on mondays and fridays with the physical therapist. when she gets him up and although she's guiding his feet with her feet, he's smiling every step of the way. he's washed in perspiration because it is exhausting but it gives him a sense of accomplishment. >> dr. shockley, talk a little bit about the importance of community and the role of community when it comes to our seniors. >> yes. jim, if you'd allow me, i'd like

to say just a word about that caregiving role. i hope that your viewers will take a moment to really think about one of the most significant occupations in our society today. when i reflect upon individuals that are providing care for a loved one, their entire life has changed, not only the life of the elderly but the life of the individual family and the individuals that are involved. many of them have had to leave professions. leave significant roles outside the home. and come in and provide care so that they're able to hold on to that loved one rather than institutionalize them. and it is a major thing to watch

as four, five years will go by and to actually watch the deterioration of the caregiver. and the amount of strain and weight that is a part of that. >> if you add the dollars, it's been calculated, don't quote me on the numbers but in the neighborhood of billions of dollars, if you tabulated what these caregivers are providing, usually unseen except to the immediate family, for someone they've taken into their home, keep them out of an assisted living facility or a nursing home where they sometimes get caught and trapped. by providing that care at home, the cost to society were we having to pay for it would be in the billions of dollars. they need help. they need attention brought to the services they're providing. this is a relative or a neighbor. >> they need resources in the community as well. we'll take a quick break, put up the web addresses and we'll be

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welcome back to "viewpoint" again. the focus is the elderly today. age-friendly communities, people can get involved and learn more about this and what it means to be an age-friendly community. >> they sure can. look to the mayor's office. the mayor's office will begin to build a plan for the process over the next year or two. they are free to call 202-434-770, the aarp offices downtown. we will be a chief advocate and sister and convener in this process, helping the city to do the right thing.

they need help and we can help them and we will. >> you are walking the walk on the front lines every day and you're seeing the seniors one on one and in groups, too. some of these stories have touched you and made a difference. >> each and every day there's a new story. one i'd like to share, if you don't mind, is a quick one with a parishioner that wanted to see her pastor. we're all very thankful with the services that the city provides with transportation. she wanted to make sure her time zones were right and that she got there on time. and so a senior friendly city needs to hear this. in order for her to see her pastor, her cab fare was $46. she lives just on the edge of the city. my heart dropped when i learned that that's what her sacrifice was in order to keep her appointment with her pastor. >> and often they are living on the edge financially -- >> absolutely. >> in terms of fixed income.

>> absolutely. >> let's talk a little bit about dollars and cents, too. you count on donations and volunteers as well. >> yes. we urgently, desperately need support in terms of dollars as well as willing hands. volunteers can assist from administrative down to direct care. we have been in existence for 36 years and we're recognized for what we do, selected twice by the catalog for philanthropy as one of the best small charities in the metropolitan area. >> that's wonderful. louis, we'll end with you, how critical the private partnerships are. >> the government does have a role, making sure there's a safety net for those who can't have their own safety net. that's the society we want in

the district of columbia. aarp's role is to do what we've done for 53 years, making sure that a woman or a person who's given up her time in the school system and retires does not have to find a colleague of hers inside of a chicken coop because she doesn't have health insurance. that was the birth of aarp. that's why we exist today. >> thank you for all you do every day. we appreciate you coming in and making us wiser, too. >> thank you. >> we can get all get involved. we're talking about the next generation as well. we will all be there if we're so fortunate and blessed, too. we have to remember that. >> certainly. >> thank you for having us in for "viewpoint." those web addresses we want to flash up on the screen. have a great day. now, from washington's leading news station, this is news 4 today. right now, the northeast braces for sandy's landfall this morning, storm team 4 is tracking the latest forecast

models. good morning and welcome to news 4 today. >> tom kierein is in for chuck and he's been tracking sandy all morning long. >> good morning. right now sandy continues to be a huge hurricane. it is affecting weather from maine all the way to florida. and from way out in the atlantic all the way into the appalachians. right now, we have clouds, a little bit of light rain around the metro area. there's one band of persistent heavy rain on the eastern shore. now, sandy's latest track, 75 mile-an-hour winds, category 1 hurricane, continuing northeast today and into tonight and tomorrow it will begin to take a turn to the northwest and take a sharp left and take a westerly track. it does look like the tck is still right near us. it could come anywhere from between chincoteague and long island. coming in, it does look like monday after sunset until midnight or so monday night and early tuesday morning and by

tuesday, 2:00 a.m., inland, perhaps just north of our metro area giving us a lotf rain. there is one persistent band of heavy rn in delaware, all the way down to the eastern part of the shore. slowly creeping off to the north and east. this is a multifaceted storm. i'll sort it out for you. that's coming up in just a few minutes. back to you. sandy's affecting a popular tourist destination in the mid-atlantic region. the governor of delaware ordered mandatory evacuations along some coastal areas. >> erica is live. what's the situation like this morning? >> the winds are picking up this morning. we are at least 30 to 35 mirm per hour and the water is rapidly approaching the board walk. the water levels are 2 to 3 feet above average and we are just about 100 feet away from the board walk. you can see how quickly the water is approaching.

once again, a reminder that mandatory evacuations are in place. the delaware governor has issued the mandatory evacuation until 8:00 this evening. a reminder for all people here in rehoboth beach. the sea witch festivities have been canceled for the day. we're waiting to hear from emergency officials at 10:00 today to see how things will progress. along the board walk, a few amounts of people trying to take pictures of this. we have to stress this is a potentially dangerous situation and now is the time to be prepared to go to the store, stock up on the essentials, on food, on water and boarding up your windows and make your preparations to leave town if you not have already done so. we ran into a couple earlier this morning who was on the board walk and didn't know that

the evacuation order had already been put into place. >> sandy sounds pretty big. slow moving. >> we've always lived in this area. we know some of the storms can cause a little damage. you don't know until it hits. we'll have to bait and see what happens. it's a big concern. >> stand by. >> we want to remind folks, people are so centered on where exactly is the point of that sandy is going to hit. within i talked to al roker yesterday, he told me that with a system this big, about 450 miles wide, the distance between d.c. and new york, that's not going to make a difference. it will have severe impacts on everybody in the coastal regions, folks that are inland in d.c., maryland and virginia. be cautious, especially along the coastal regions. take a look again at the choppy waters this morning, at least 2

to 3 feet above average. live in rehoboth beach, news 4. >> thanks, erica. city leaders in ocean city, maryland, are asking anyone planning to visit to postpone their trip. they are asking residents to secure their homes and prepare to evacuate. they expect severe flooding in low-lying areas and power outages that could last for several days. >> in the day ahead, people in the district can pick up sandbags to protect their homes from flooding. d.c. residents can stop by from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. there's a five-bag limit per car. residents in huntington received a letter detailing how to prepare for sandy. yesterday, we found store shelves at one ace hardware store just about empty.

behm there s people there say the best we can do is prepare. >> we used to live in florida. we just moved here in december. >> i bought batteries because i'm in panic over the storm like everyone else. the guy fixed this. >> fairfax executive, says she's hopeful there will also not be issues with 911 like there was during the summer storms. if you have airline reservations, both dulles and reagan national airports say they plan to remain open but you're going to want to check with their airlines first. here's a live look right now at reagan national. the airport authority says passengers should check their airline about flight delays, cancellations or adjustmentso rebooking policies. they say they also plan to use twitter to retweet any announcement from the major airlines. airlines are letting many passengers make changes without paying a fee. for train passenger, amtrak has canceled some services for

today and tomorrow. the company is working to contact affected passengers offering them refunds or vouchers. more cancellations are possible. we have a link at nbcwashington.com. meantime, there are currently no changes to met throw rail or bus service. with sustained winds, travel times could grow longer for trains in above ground areas. the storm could slow down metro bus service. metro is urging riders to sign up for alerts. we've got you covered all morning watching sandy's ever move. remember, we have complete coverage of hurricane sandy on nbcwashington.com. there you can see the latest track and seen up for breaking news and weather alerts. >> we continue to follow news this morning. it's 7:36. good morning. a tsunami warning after a

7.7 earthquake rattles the west coast overnight. >> and the adjustments being made in the district after frustration on day one of early voting. >> we're counting down to the beginning of the marine corps marathon. >> join us online this morning. we are on facebook and twitter, just search news 4 today, give us your thoughts and questions about sandy. we'll try to answer anncr: it's said that character is what we do... when we think no one is looking. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas. his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare...

and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said... and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. imillion dollars for maryland one hundred schools.ty... question seven will double it. rushern baker: question seven will add table games and... a new casino, generating millions of dollars... every year, without raising taxes. leggett: and audits will ensure the money goes... where it's supposed to. more jobs, and millions for schools. baker: question seven will be good for our kids... our teachers, and our schools. leggett: keep maryland money in maryland. baker: please vote for question seven. leggett: vote for question seven. we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage

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a live look at the conditions there at long island, new york. you can see the waves crashing. this is one of the many places bracing for sandy and one of the places we are monitoring along with other places along the east coast. you see surfers out there trying to take advantage of the calm before the storm so to speak. >> checking some of our other big stories this morning. people on the west coast of canada are looking for damage after a strong earthquake hit in british columbia, a rare 7.7

magnitude quake struck last night in the queen charlotte island area. a 5.2 aftershock hit several minutes later. this is new video just in, sirens went off in honolulu warning people to evacuate to higher ground. the first wave came ashore. it was smaller than expected but a tsunami advisory is still in effect for parts of coastal oregon and northern california. overnight a small wave came ashore in craig, alaska. ten people had to go to the hospital after a car hit two metro buss in northwest cc. a cadillac was hit a metro bus head on. the crash caused the cadillac to hit another metro bus in the opposite direction. police say none of the injuries are life-threatening. >> indecision 2012, hundreds of people voted early, causing

problems at polling places in the district. election workers hope to add more voting machines to the busiest polling places by tomorrow. people waited in long lines to cast their vote in the election. eight early voting places opened for the first time yesterday across the district. many voters say workers at these pollinspots were not prepared for the large crowd. >> the machines broke down and two machines working and people are leaving because they're getting discouraged. >> they encourage people to come and vote early. they should have eight to ten machines in here. >> d.c. election workers say part of the problem is people can vote early at any of the eight polling places. some of the voting machines did not have the specific neighborhood races programmed on those machines. >> this morning you may notice a new national christmas tee. crews planted a new 28-foot blew spruce yesterday. the old national christmas tree was knocked down in 2011 and

replacement died in may. go to our website, nbcwashington.com search the words christmas tree for a link to the national parks service. the time right now 17:43. the "today" show is next. good morning, lester. we're down at richmond on the latest stop in the tour of our nation's battle ground states. this state is also preparing for another big event, the arrival of hurricane sandy could impact 80 million people from the mid-atlantic to new england. al roker will join us to track the storm. we turn to the race for the white house with the election just nine days away. we're zero in on virginia, why it's so key and why it could help decide who will spend the next four years in the oval office. we have a lot to get to,

including the tsunami in hawaii and why this overweight dachshund is at the center of a custody battle. that's right here on "today." >> that was quite the sight to leave us with. >> thanks, lester. >> yes. the time right now is 7:44. perfect time to get a check on the latest track of sandy. >> let's go to meteorologist tom kierein. he's in storm center 4. >> watching the first heavy rain bands from sandy already on this sunday morning on the eastern shore. they're getting heavy rain from delaware in through southern maryland and parts of the northern neck. scattered light rain around the metro area now. i'll have the latest on sandy coming up i

tracking sandy this morning. the category 1 hurricane has already proven deadly in the caribbean. now it has its sites set on the u.s. east coast. people all along the region are preparing for this monster storm. these are live pictures from rehoboth beach. there is an evacuation order in effect for people from that seaside beach town. just about every forecaster says this storm will affect just about everyone from virginia into new england. >> right in the middle of that is new york where people on the coast on long island are watching and just waiting. jonathan vigliotti is live there this among on long island, new york. how's it looking out there? >> reporter: good morning to you. you can see for yourself behind me, the waves starting to crash down as sandy gets closer to the coast here. i want to show you what we're standing on top of, what has

become quite the image. these are manmade sand walls, essentially acting as barriers against a surging ocean. the concern here, the waves crashing into these low-lying seaside communities and causing flooding. power outages one of the other main concerns here, last year with irene, hundreds of thousands were without power without several days. long island power authority, officials with that utility warning customers and residents here they could be without power for as long as seven to ten days, those power outages they say could begin as early as later on tonight. long beach is a barrier island, at this point there is no mandatory evacuation here. the medical center here on this ilan has been under the mandatory evacuation. patients there have been relocated. other hospitals in the area we can tell you, they evacuated their lower level floors ahead of this storm. this is nassau county. if you go up to suffolk county,

it's a different story there. on fire ilan, a barrier island, very prone to flooding, there is a mandatory evacuation at this point. residents have until 2:00 to leave there. that's when the ferries will end. back here on long beach, the waves attracting thrill seekers. a lot of surfers in the water. officials saying don't go in the water, stay inside and prepare. back to you. >> jonathan vigliotti, thanks for the report from long island. >> a lot of big waves. we saw a couple surfers in that shot. >> the calm before the storm so to speak. >> we had erica gonzalez on earlier at rehoboth beach, the time of high tide, the beach was covered with water. the storm isn't even close to rehoboth yet. >> what does that tell you. >> that's the main thing, how big it is. you can see the extent of this storm here in the storm team 4 satellite and radar image. it's showing seens that it is getting more organized although

it's probably not going to strengthen much at all. right now, sandy is swinging bands of heavy rain all the way to the eastern shore. category 1 hurricane, peak winds at 75 right now. here is the latest track, moving to the north and east. we'll get an updated track later this morning. we will certainly share that with you on twitter and facebook as well as nbc 4. as we get a close-up view of where the track may be coming close to us, it covers a huge area. from chincoteague to long island. it could come ashore anywhere in this zone. the timing, tuesday at 2:00 a.m., this is the position, it's well inland. this is the monday at 8:00 a.m. -- rather 8:00 p.m. it does look like it will be coming in right around 9:00, 10:00 or so, based on timing of the evening and coming ashore. we'll teal feel the effects continue to go downhill as we approach monday evening. expect more of these types of

bands. they've had persistent heavy rain from delaware to the lower eastern shore. they're getting flooding there because it's just not moving. this rain banned is nearly stationary. slowly creeping off to the northeast, now in the eastern part of the northern neck of virginia. there is a flooding threat. we do have a flood watch sunday night into tuesday. 5 to 10 inches of rain possible. heaviest rains probably just east of washington around the bay and the eastern shore. around the metro area we could get 3 to 6 inches of rain. in addition, the high wind warning in effect, gusts at 60 miles an hour, noon monday to 8:00 p.m. tuesday, covers all of northern virginia as well as all of maryland and eastern west virginia. here's the time lapse here of what we expect windwise. by 6:00 p.m. monday, we could have winds 50 to 60 miles an hour, increasing to 65 to maybe as high as 70 mile-an-hour gusts. especially around the bay. that would be around midnight monday night and then 2:00 a.m.

tuesday beginning to decrease. by tuesday afternoon the winds will really be decreasing quite rapidly. we'll see a big change in the wind field. as we go forward with the precipitation, monday by 6:00 in the morning by tomorrow morning around this time we could have heavy rain causing some flooding and then that rain continuing all the way into monday evening. this area in blue is a zone of potential snow out in west virginia. some locations there could get a foot of heavy, wet snow from this system and even toward the end of it, this is as of tuesday, 7:00 in the morning. we might have flurries in the western and northern suburbs and the rest of the rains ending late tuesday night into wednesday morning. here's the hour by hour forecast for this sunday. maybe a few sprinkles this morning through noontime and then the showers increasing during the afternoon and evening. will be up around 60 degrees much of the day. 50s the evening and then by dawn tomorrow, some of that heavier rain moving in. the strongest winds, again, repeating this, coming in monday

evening into around dawn. tuesday we could have gusts to 60 miles an hour. that is enough wind to bring down tree limbs with the ground soaked with rain, we could have trees toppling. unfortunately, long duration power outages as a result. drying out wednesday just in time for trick or treaters. >> is it true i heard they said the power outages could be bigger than what we saw with irene. >> i much more widespread area from here to new england because of the size of the storm. at any moment more than 30,000 runners will begin a more than 26-mile journey through the streets of d.c. and arlington. >> our own keith russell has a great view of the starting line. he's joining us live now. i just saw that chuck tweeted out a picture of the marine osprey flying slow and low over where you are. >> guess what, we just talked to chuck bell.

you'll hear from him momentarily. he's pumped and ready. we're on the memorial bridge overlooking the start of the 37th marine corps marathon. you heard the cannon. you heard it. and now you can see. the runners are off. they say the last runner to cross the starting point will be 23 monz after this point. that's how many runners are taking part in the people's marathon. over 30,000 people here, over 11,000 first-timers, 9,600 service members. you can feel the energy. you can feel the intensity. this is a marathon that's for everyone. every country. 54 countries represented. every state in this country represented. and all you see are people bonding, bonding behind the work that our service people do for us, putting their lives on the

line each and every single day. you have the new york city marathon. that's a biggie. you have the chicago marathon. that's a biggie. the boston marathon. that's huge. nothing compares to this marathon. and what it represents to our nation and all the folks around the world. earlier we spoke to storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell who says he plans to do his personal best today. and he has inspiration with him. this is very sentimental to you? >> absolutely. >> explain to the folks why. >> obviously channel 4. 444. the folks who run the race said i can pick any number i wanted to. i thought, 4? this is a small enough number where they think you're quick but not going to win. maybe next year, i may get 4444.

you never know. >> reporter: chuck bell with his magical bib, 444. this is his third straight year running in the race. he's run in it six of the last eight years. the next time we check in about you just after 9:00 we hope to hear from the winners of the 10k. what a start and preer preparing for a great finish. >> thanks so much. i'm just wondering if chuck is carrying his phone with him. he's tweeting us at the starting line. there's no place to just throw it. >> i'll be following him and rooting for him. there are rolling road closures throughout northern virginia and the district as runners make their way long the course. >> take a look at the course map here. many of the roads will be closed until noon, some until 5:30. >> some of the big closures, the memorial bridge, lee hooiway, wisconsin avenue, rock creek and

potomac parkway as well as ohio drive. >> roads continue to close through the 8:00 hour. it will be a while. >> i know. just real quick on weather. >> light rain off and on this morning. the heaviest winds coming into tomorrow evening and tuesday. we want to leave you with some pictures from the marine corps marathon. they are three minutes into the race now. 26.2 miles, still a ways to go. >> we'll see you back here at 9:00. the "today" show